China predicts it will perform 16,000 organ transplants in 2017

China is expected to conduct about 16,000 organ transplants this year, and about 31,000 patients are currently on the waiting list, according to Huang Jiefu, former vice minister of health.

Huang, currently head of the National Human Organ Donation and Transplant Committee, made the remarks during a meeting of transplant recipients held in Peking University on Sunday, which was also China's first Organ Donation Day.

The number of hospitals capable of performing organ transplants will reach 180 to 190 nationwide, and the number is expected to reach 300 in the near future, Huang revealed, news site chinanews.com reported.

China has stepped onto the global transplant stage through two significant international meetings - the 2017 Pontifical Academy Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism held in the Vatican City in February, and the China International Organ Donation Conference held in Beijing in October 2016, Huang said.

In an interview with news portal yicai.com this March, Huang explained that the huge gap between the number of organ transplants China can perform annually and the number of patients on the waiting list is because of "organ waste," as China lacks qualified organ transplant doctors.

China performed 204 lung transplants in 2016, 150 of which were carried out by one doctor, according to Huang.

Statistics from the China Organ Donation Administrative Center showed that a total of 276,082 volunteers have registered themselves as organ donors as of May 31, and China has processed 11,977 organ transplants involving 32,984 organs till May 31 this year.